This thesis seeks to advance a curriculum which provides learners with educative experiences required to promote an ecological literacy. This particular type of literacy enables individuals and communities to understand their connectedness to all systems, to appreciate the finite carrying capacity of the planet, to predict consequences of human activity, and to ultimately create sustainable communities through action, or praxis. The proposed curriculum is a vision of public education in Manitoba, borrowing examples of experiences throughout the world which are then adapted to meet the ecological, social, and political realities of this province. It is a utopian-inspired curriculum as it seeks to shed current restraints imposed by contemporary educational practices in Manitoba. By removing certain constraints, this philosophical inquiry can then be used to provoke a dialogue as to how we might transform learners into agents of social and ecological change. / October 2016

Despite repeated calls internationally, nationally and provincially to place the development of ecoliteracy as a curricular priority, there continues to be a lack of attention provided towards this goal, in particular opportunities for direct contact with the natural world in terms of fostering ecoliteracy in student teachers (Tuncer, 2009; Davis, 2009, Gough, 2009, Beckford, 2008; Blanchet-Cohen & Elliot, 2011). Teachers play key roles in advancing environmental education efforts and the environmental literacy of future generations. Insufficient teacher preparation has been identified as one factor in the weakness of environmental education efforts and environmental education curriculum (Beckford, 2008; Lin, 2002; Knapp, 2000). Furthermore, adequate environmental education preparation of students in teacher-training programs is essential for helping future teachers design and implement effective environmental education curriculum (Cutter-Mackenzie and Smith, 2003; Mc Keown-Ice, 2000; Spork, 1992)..Future generations of students need to begin to perceive themselves, once again, in terms of being connected to a larger story which includes the more-than-human world. I argue that education needs to play an important role in that re-connection, and that teacher education, as a fertile place of in-betweenness, can represent an important step toward that goal. Using a combination narrative and phenomenological inquiry, I explore the storied insights of ten student teachers as they struggle to navigate the tensions, disruptions and opportunities that form the waters between their nature-self and their teacher-self. Along with a questioning of current conventional approaches to teaching ecoliteracy in schools, the Aboriginal concept of “heart knowledge” (Aluli-Meyer, 2008) is provided as a way of knowing which is congruent with the aims of an holistic ecoliteracy within teacher education. / Graduate / 0727 / 0530 / cfiller@uvic.ca

Reducing the rate at which biodiversity is presently being lost is one of the challenges for the coming years. Through diverse activities, humankind is currently responsible for the extinction of species worldwide, which has consequences for whole ecosystems. The preservation of biodiversity is not only important for its intrinsic values, but also for its role in maintaining the functioning of ecosystems that provide humans with services that are important for our well-being and safety. As it is a concern for all of humanity there is a demand for education that can develop in students an understanding of the complexity which lies behind the ecosystem services of which they benefit. Including how the disturbance of this complexity will lead to consequences for the whole human world. Current attempts to educate the public has failed to conjure motivation and interest. However, ecological network research create opportunity for understanding the underlying relationships between species, and the use of ecosystem services as a pedagogical perspective offers the possibility to demonstrate the importance of these relationships for ecosystem functioning. In this literature review it is examined how this could benefit environmental education in high school.

This work entitled "From Environmental Education for Sustainability to the Sustainability of Environmental Education: the paths of the Nursery School Teacher Izaldino in Maceià - AL" aims to: a) analyze how the EE is being deployed in the Nursery School Teacher Izaldino â CEMI, and what guarantees that it be implemented with Sustainability b) register the actions of ongoing training in EE developed by the Municipal Education Office of Maceià â SEMED, and the Environmental Education Program Lagoa Viva - PEALV also in MaceiÃ, and propose suggestions that contribute to the realization of EE in municipal schools. The methodology is qualitative in nature, characterized by a case study. In order to construct the theoretical framework, we reviewed the literature which discussed the Environmental Crisis, the prospect of Sustainability, Sustainability and Education, the ideological character of EE, the process of institutionalization of EE in Brazil, the Absences and Emergencies in Education and in Educators Development. Following, we present the Environmental in Childhood Education. Subsequently, we introduce some of the history, goals and actions developed by PEALV as well as the story of CEMI, analyzing how it has educated for Sustainability, and with sustainability in its pedagogical project for promotion of EE with insertion and integration in the community where the school is located. We also reflect on the conceptions of EE and environment school community (administrators, teachers, auxiliary staff and studentâs parents), and noticed some contradictions, part of the respondents feature a naturalistic view of the Environment and a behaviorist conception of EE. However, this fact has not compromised the sustainability of EE implementation in school. We could verify that the basic principles of ecological literacy (partnership, interdependence, the cyclical nature which in education, can also be understood as the cyclical exchange of information, flexibility, and diversity) proposed by Capra (1996), are present in school community of CEMI, showing by this, that the school is on the right way for the construction of Sustainability, and also, for the construction of Sustainable Educational Spaces / O presente trabalho intitulado ―Da EducaÃÃo Ambiental para a Sustentabilidade à Sustentabilidade da EducaÃÃo Ambiental: os caminhos da Creche Escola Mestre Izaldino em Maceià â AL‖ teve como objetivo: a) analisar como a EA està sendo implantada na Creche Escola Mestre Izaldino - CEMI e o que garante que ela seja implantada com Sustentabilidade; b) registrar as aÃÃes de formaÃÃo continuada em EA desenvolvidas pela Secretaria Municipal de EducaÃÃo de Maceià â SEMED e pelo Programa de EducaÃÃo Ambiental Lagoa Viva â PEALV em Maceià e c) propor sugestÃes que contribuam para a efetivaÃÃo da EducaÃÃo Ambiental na rede municipal de ensino. A metodologia utilizada caracteriza-se como qualitativa, por um Estudo de Caso. Para a construÃÃo do referencial teÃrico fez-se uma revisÃo da literatura onde discutiu-se a crise ambiental, a perspectiva da Sustentabilidade, Sustentabilidade e EducaÃÃo, o carÃter ideolÃgico da EA, o processo de InstitucionalizaÃÃo da EA no Brasil, as AusÃncias e EmergÃncias em EducaÃÃo e FormaÃÃo de Educadores, e o Ambiental na EducaÃÃo Infantil. Seguiu-se apresentando um pouco da histÃria e objetivos e aÃÃes desenvolvidas pelo Programa de EducaÃÃo Ambiental Lagoa Viva - PEALV. Contou-se a histÃria da CEMI, analisando como ela tem educado para a Sustentabilidade e com Sustentabilidade no seu projeto pedagÃgico de promoÃÃo da EA com inserÃÃo e integraÃÃo com a comunidade onde a escola està inserida. Fez-se tambÃm uma reflexÃo sobre as concepÃÃes de EA e de Meio Ambiente da comunidade escolar (gestoras, professoras, auxiliares de serviÃos gerais e pais/mÃes de alunos/as) e percebeu-se algumas contradiÃÃes, em que certa parte dos(as) entrevistados(as) apresentam uma visÃo naturalista de Meio Ambiente e outra uma concepÃÃo de EA comportamentalista, mas isto nÃo tem comprometido a sustentabilidade da implementaÃÃo da EA na escola. Pode-se verificar que os PrincÃpios BÃsicos da AlfabetizaÃÃo EcolÃgica (a parceria, a interdependÃncia, a natureza cÃclica â que na educaÃÃo pode ser entendido como o intercÃmbio cÃclico de informaÃÃo, a flexibilidade, e a diversidade) propostos por Capra (1996), estÃo presentes na comunidade escolar da CEMI, mostrando com isto que a escola està no caminho correto para a construÃÃo da Sustentabilidade, para a construÃÃo de um EspaÃo de Educadores SustentÃveis.

The term ‘education for sustainable development’ is recently used and discussed in Germany, even though, to many people it is an abstract idea. The development of schoolyards can be seen as a practical project in order to teach and experience education for sustainable development in everyday school life. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how the development of a schoolyard offers possibilities for education for sustainable development. Additionally, some challenges that have to be taken into consideration are pointed out. An extended literature review of education for sustainable development and schoolyard development serves as the basis for the thematic analysis. In order to approach the research question, the five themes that emerged through the thematic analysis, are discussed.  The present research shows that schoolyard development has the potential to support a holistic approach to learning, to offer possibilities for ‘progressive’ teaching strategies, to enhance ecological literacy, to foster the participation of students and to provide equal opportunities. Although there are basic framework conditions that need to be considered, the research indicates that schoolyard development can make an important contribution to education for sustainable development.

Denna kunskapsöversikt syftar till att undersöka begreppet environmental literacy, en slags förståelse för och handlingskompetens inför olika miljörelaterade frågor och problem, samt dess betydelse inom undervisning. Vi använder det engelska begreppet för att det inte finns någon vedertagen svensk översättning. I dagens samhälle har frågor om miljö och hållbar utveckling blivit centralt vilket gör att elever som framtida samhällsmedborgare, behöver utveckla kunskaper och ökad handlingskompetens för att hantera dessa frågor. Syftet har således varit att undersöka hur lärares miljöundervisning kan bidra till att utveckla lågstadieelevers environmental literacy. För att kunna undersöka detta har tre delfrågor formulerats i syfte att ta reda på vad environmental literacy är, varför det är viktigt och hur undervisning kan se ut i relation till environmental literacy.  För att besvara dessa frågor har vi systematiskt sökt utifrån databaserna ERIC, ERC, Swepub, Libsearch och Google scholar genom att kombinera olika relevanta sökord. Främst har vi sökt utifrån begreppen sustainable development, environmental education och environmental literacy. Vi har även använt oss av sekundärsökningar för att finna ytterligare relevant forskning som kan belysa frågeställningen. Denna sökprocess gav oss 14 artiklar som underlag till kunskapsöversikten. Dock bör det lyftas att environmental literacy är ett begränsat begrepp, vilket kan bidra med brister i metoden.  Resultatet visar att environmental literacy består av flera förmågor som innefattar att ha kunskaper, ansvarskänsla och handlingskompetens inför att hantera miljöproblem och leva hållbart. Dessutom har det blivit tydligt att environmental literacy är viktigt att utveckla för att skolan ska kunna fostra framtida samhällsmedborgare till att verka för en hållbar miljö både för nutida och kommande generationer. Slutsatsen är således att environmental literacy är viktigt att utveckla redan i lågstadiet och att läraren får en avgörande roll i att anpassa undervisningen så att eleverna kan utveckla kritiskt tänkande och en självständighet inför att lösa miljöproblem. Däremot är environmental literacy ett begränsat begrepp inom den svenska skolan vilket gör att det kan vara intressant att forska vidare om dess betydelse och påverkan på undervisningen i Sverige.

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The licentiate thesis examines what spending time in a forest garden can offer children when this environment is used for teaching aimed at sustainability. What do the children remember from their visits to the forest garden? What do they find special or memorable? What can the children learn there? To answer such questions, walk-and-talk conversations were conducted with children who for a three-year period had regularly visited a forest garden during school hours. The overall purpose of the licentiate thesis is to deepen knowledge about what spending time in a forest garden in a school context can offer children, reflected from the children's perspectives. Furthermore, the thesis aims to deepen knowledge about walk-and-talk conversations as a data collection method when children are respondents. This leads to the research questions: 1. In what ways can walk-and-talk conversations as a data collection method reflect children's perspectives in an environment and in relation to places? What are the possibilities and limitations of the method? 2. What significance do forest garden visits in a pedagogical context aimed at learning for sustainability have from the children's perspective? The theoretical starting points of the licentiate thesis draw on social studies of childhood, ecological literacy and affordances. Another concept that emerged in the analysis process was plant blindness. Data consisted of audio-recorded walk-and-talk conversations, children's photographs and recorded informal, supplementary interviews. A total of 28 children (11 boys and 17 girls) participated in sub-studies II and III. The children were aged 7-9 years, but most were 9 years old. The licentiate thesis consists of three sub-studies: Sub-study I is a literature review that focuses on opportunities, limitations, and challenges in using walk-and-talk conversations as a data collection method with children and young people. Walk-and-talk conversations can increase opportunities to capture children's perspectives and help to reduce power imbalances between children and researchers. However, analysing data from child-led walks and conversations can be challenging, while awareness of the researcher's own position and assumptions becomes particularly important. Sub-study II deals with the forest garden from children’s perspective. The first category, ‘to appreciate the place the forest garden’, contained the following themes: physical work, relationships with animals and plants, aesthetic and edible aspects and food, and friends. Most of the children enjoyed staying in the forest garden with its natural features. They valued the care of living organisms and felt that spending time in the forest garden was fun and exciting. In the second category, ‘aspects of learning in the forest garden’, the following themes emerged; practical skills, coexistence and caring, and biological knowledge and ecological understanding. Sub-study III deals with the four most photographed phenomena in the forest garden. The first were the plants, including trees and shrubs, which provided sensual, aesthetic and emotional affordances. The second was the pond, which provided physical affordances and wishes, while the third, the barbecue area, provided social affordances. Finally, the tipi provided affordances for privacy and imagination. To conclude: children's forest garden visits, with learning and nature encounters, can contribute to sustainable development. The investigated forest garden was an outdoor environment designed for children with natural features and with a focus on organic farming, where the forest garden educators helped to create a framework for both learning and relational opportunities. Developing ecological literacy in the new generation is a crucial concern, and the results of the licentiate thesis suggest that establishing educational outdoor environments where children receive parts of their education can contribute to the development of such literacy. The creation of outdoor environments for children is thus an important sustainability issue. / Licentiatuppsatsen undersöker vad skogträdgårdsvistelser kan erbjuda barn när en sådan miljö används för undervisning riktad mot hållbarhet. Det övergripande syfte är att fördjupa kunskap om vad skogsträdgårdsvistelser i en skolkontext kan tillföra barn, speglat utifrån barnens perspektiv. Vidare syftar uppsatsen till att fördjupa kunskaper om samtalspromenader som datainsamlingsmetod när barn är respondenter. Licentiatuppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkter tar avstamp i barndomssociologi (Social Studies of Childhood), ekologisk litteracitet och affordances. Ett annat begrepp som framkom efter analysprocessen var växtblindhet. Den undersökta skogsträdgården, var en natur- och utomhusmiljö med inriktning mot ekologisk odling designad för barn, där skogsträdgårdspedagogernas pedagogiska inramning bidrog till att skapa både pedagogiska och relationella möjligheter. Metodvalet har varit ljudupptagna samtalspromenader, barns fotografier samt inspelade informella, kompletterande intervjuer. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten att barns skogsträdgårdsvistelser, lärande och naturmöten bidra till hållbar utveckling. Utvecklandet av ekologisk litteracitet hos den uppväxande generationen måste betraktas som central, och licentiatuppsatsens resultat pekar mot att anläggandet av pedagogiska utomhusmiljöer där barn får delar av sin undervisning kan bidra till utvecklandet av sådan litteracitet. Tillskapandet av utomhusmiljöer för barn är därför en viktig hållbarhetsfråga.

O desenvolvimento sustentável no final do século XX surgiu para expressar preocupações com graves problemas que causam riscos a vida no planeta. O uso do planeta de forma sustentável exigirá diferentes estratégias de sustentabilidade. Neste sentido têm-se as estratégias que abordam o nível mais elevado do ecossistema referidas como Top-down e as estratégias que abordam componentes locais ou regionais referidas como bottom-up. A escola traz essa compreensão nos conceitos e fenômenos ecológicos. No entanto, a compreensão dessas abordagens com apoio interdisciplinar faz com que o aluno entenda os fenômenos ecológicos de forma mais crítica. Assim, para um aprendizado motivador, o professor pode utilizar como recurso didático além dos espaços formais de educação também espaços não formais de educação, ou seja, aulas de campo em ambientes naturais. Com o intuito de promover no ensino de ecologia a alfabetização ecológica dos alunos no Ensino Médio, este trabalho elaborou uma proposta didática com apoio interdisciplinar (Biologia, Língua Portuguesa e Geografia) e com ênfase nas estratégias Top-down e bottom-up abordadas tanto em espaços formais quanto não formais de educação. O método de ensino em espaço formal de educação apesar de estar estruturado didaticamente para abranger a ecologia não se apresentou motivadora ao aluno e muitos dos conceitos e fenômenos ecológicos não foram assimilados por eles. Em contrapartida, a integração interdisciplinar em associação com as estratégias de Top-down e bottom-up em espaços não formais de educação foi motivadora para o aluno melhorando o seu desempenho com relação à assimilação dos conceitos e fenômenos biológicos promovendo a alfabetização ecológica dos alunos. Espera-se com esse trabalho ter contribuído para o ensino e aprendizagem do tema sustentabilidade através da promoção da alfabetização ecológica dos alunos de Biologia no Ensino Médio em escolas públicas com a formação de cidadãos mais conscientes e críticos em assuntos ambientais. / Sustainable development in the late 20th century has emerged to express concerns about serious life-threatening problems on the planet. The use of the planet in a sustainable way will require different sustainability strategies. In this sense we have the strategies that approach the highest level of the ecosystem referred to as \"top-down\" and the strategies that approach local or regional components referred to as \"bottom-up\". The school brings this understanding into concepts and ecological phenomena. However, understanding these approaches with interdisciplinary support makes the student understand ecological phenomena more critically. Thus, for a motivating learning, the teacher can use as a didactic resource beyond the formal spaces of education also non-formal spaces of education, that is, field lessons in natural environments. In order to promote ecological literacy among students in high school, this work elaborated a didactic proposal with interdisciplinary support (Biology, Portuguese Language and Geography) and with emphasis on top-down and bottom-up strategies addressed in both formal and non-formal education settings. The method of teaching in formal educational space despite being structured to cover ecology did not present itself as motivating to the student and many concepts and ecological phenomena were not assimilated by them. In contrast, interdisciplinary integration in association with top-down and bottom-up strategies in non-formal education spaces was motivating for the student to improve his performance in relation to the assimilation of concepts and biological phenomena by promoting literacy of the students. It is hoped that this work contributed to the teaching and learning of the sustainability theme through the promotion of the ecological literacy of Biology students in High School in public schools with the formation of citizens more conscious and critical in environmental issues.

There is little research on the young child's experience of the natural environment. Due to the increase in urbanisation, indoor recreation and indoor schooling many young children have become isolated from the natural environment. A love for nature and a sense of wonder in nature is being lost in the hurried childhood. This loss of access to nature impacts on the child's health and wellbeing, sense of connection and environmental literacy. This research study explores how Melbourne preschool children experience and use nature through the environments provided to them in the preschool program. The main environment is naturally the preschool play yard; however, as excursions also form part of the curriculum, the child's visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden forms part of this experience. Six case studies of Melburnian preschool children have been developed as a means to capture and communicate the interactions of individual children. Each of the six case studies present a child or pair of children 'in the moment,' as a snap shot of ecological learning and play behaviour and are presented as six stories, which allow the child's individual character and unique experience of nature to be expressed. Issues and behaviours evident in the children's interactions are then discussed through a framework of the seven ways of interacting in nature, which emerges from the demonstrations of these children. This information was collected using research techniques in observation; structured observations using time sampling and behaviour mapping; participating in conversations with children and collecting anecdotal observations and children's artwork. The case studies provide insight into childhood interactions with the natural environment and the levels of engagement experienced by children, with nature. The six stories, alongside topical literature, form the basis for deep discussion on the observed ways of interacting with nature.